The Ideal Man Defined in The FountainheadAyn Rand based her novel, The Fountainhead, on the projection of an ideal man. It is the representation of a moral ideal as an end in itself. It placed the “cult of man” above all else and brought out the significance of the heroic in man. The worshipers of man are those who see man's highest potential and strive to realize it. They are dedicated to the exaltation of man's self-esteem and the sacred nature of his happiness on earth. The Fountainhead highlighted the greatness of man – the ability, aptitude, integrity and honesty of man – as an ideal to be achieved. It is based on the idea of ​​romanticism which means that “it is not interested in things as they are but in things as they could and should be”. The Fountainhead is the story of an architect, Howard Roark, whose genius and integrity were as unyielding as granite, and his desperate battle against the conventional norms of society. It is a story of hatred and denunciation unleashed by society against a great innovator; of a man who has great belief in himself; of a person who believes that the first right of man on earth is the right of the ego and that the first duty of man is the duty to himself, a man who redefines selfishness. An egoist, in the absolute sense, is not the man who sacrifices others to himself. This is the man who stands above the need to use others in any way. Roark doesn't work through others. He doesn't need other men. Its primary objective is to achieve perfection. He is a man of uncompromising values ​​and integrity. In order to clarify her philosophy, Ayn Rand simultaneously reported on people like Peter Keating and Ellsworth M. Toohey. Peter Keating – a man who cheats and lies but maintains a respectable facade. He knows he is dishonest but others think he is honest and he derives his self-esteem from this. His goal in life is greatness – in the eyes of others. Other people dictated to him his beliefs that he did not share, but he was convinced that others believed that he shared them. Others were his main concern. He didn't want to be big but to be considered big. He borrowed from others to impress others.